Press release – 4 November, 2015Sydney, 5 November 2015 – The Commonwealth Bank’s announcement on climate change today is a key indicator that fossil fuels no longer make any financial or environmental sense, Greenpeace Australia Pacific said today.The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Australia’s biggest bank and one of the largest listed companies on the ASX, affirmed its support for taking action to keep global warming below 2 degrees and unveiled new carbon disclosure reporting requirements.
“Commonwealth Bank’s recognition of the damage that fossil fuels are doing to the environment and of the need to take strong action against global warming is timely,” said Nikola Casule, Greenpeace Australia Pacific climate and energy campaigner.
“However, it is concerning that the bank’s carbon disclosure calculations do not include indirect emissions from the products of companies it invests in (‘Scope 3 emissions’). This means that the Commonwealth Bank has left the door open to investing in Australian coal mines without taking into account the emissions that coal creates when it’s exported and burnt overseas.
“The science is clear: to meet a two degree target, 90% of Australia’s known coal reserves have to stay in the ground. This includes all of the coal in Queensland’s Galilee Basin. The credibility of the Commonwealth Bank’s position hinges on whether it moves to end its involvement in financing destructive fossil fuel projects in Australia and overseas,” concluded Dr Casule.
The CBA announced on 5 August 2015, that it would not be involved in providing finance for Adani’s unviable Carmichael coal mine in Queensland, which threatens the Great Barrier Reef.
If built, Carmichael would be Australia’s largest coal mine and one of the biggest in the world. On the doorstep of the Great Barrier Reef, its port expansion would require massive seafloor dredging, resulting in hundreds more coal ships through Reef waters. At 28,000 hectares, it would also produce 121 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions yearly at maximum production, driving climate change – the greatest threat to the Reef.